Buckle.



' C. E. BRADSHAW.

BUCKLE.

APPLICATloN FILED Dic. 23. 191s.

Patented Aug. 6, 1918.

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I UNITED srAfrEs PATENT oEEIoE.

CHARLES E. BRADSHAW', 0F XVATERIBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T0 ROBERT N. Y

BASSETT COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF SHELTON, C0l\ll\TEC'lICUT,Y A CORPORA.-

TION 0F CONNECTICULu BUCKLE.

Patented Aug. 6, 1918.

Application filed December 23, 1916. Serial N o. 138,544.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. BRAD- sHAw, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Vaterbury, inthe county of New Havenjand State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Buckles, of which the following is a specification. y

My invention `relates to metal mountings for running webbing, but more particularly to buckles of the style which are provided with pivotcd levers, and its object is to produce such a buckle in which the lever and frame can be assembled by hand thereby dispensing with the employment of the usual assembling` machinery.

I attain these and other objects of my invention in the device set forth in the following description and accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer f to corresponding parts.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front view its open position;

Fig. 2, an enlarged central, vertical, sectional view showing the buckle strung with webbing and in its closed position, and

Figs. 3 and 4, rear and side views showing of my buckle in the parts partially assembled.v

The fundamental features of my invention are disclosed and claimed in my application for button clasps filed March 29, 1916, `Serial No. 87 511. The specific form of my invention disclosed herein is embodied in a buckle made either of sheet metal or wire which is shown mounted on a supporting strap or webbing 2. The buckle may be of any suitable construction provided the hinge connection between the lever and back consists of a. pintle bar journaled in a bearing sleeve or sleeves. I prefer, however, to utilize one of the so-called Pellar type which consists of a back or frame 3 to which is pivoted a lever 4. The back 3 is bent up out of a single piece of wire to form a loop having a lower side 5, ends 6, 6 and inwardly projecting pintles 7 7 which latter may be regarded as the top side. The lower side 5 is provided at its middle portion with a downward projection 8. The lever 4 is preferably made out of sheet metal and 1s bent to form a front portion 9, a web-gr1pping member 10 and pintle bearings 11, 11. The buckle thus .far described is one 1n com* mon use on the market and is merely d1s- -ings 14, 14.

closed herein for the purpose ofV showing how my invention is applied to buckles generally. Immediately beyond and to one side of the pintles 7 7 the end portions 6, 6 are made thin or flattened as shown at 12, 12. l/Vhen the lever 4 is being formed the straps which form the pintle bearingsll, 11 respectively are curled so that their edges 13, `13 are spaced sulliciently from the front portion of the lever to leave slots or open- "llo assemble the lever and back they are placed laterally of each other and the flattened portion 12 is passed into` the slot 14 in the adjacent pintle bearing 11 as shown in Fig. 3. The flattened portion l2 is then passed entirely through the slot 1 4 and also through the slots 14 in the opposite pintle bearing 11 so that the partsare b rought into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. During the telescopic action between the parts just described t-he front of the lever is pressed as close to the bottom side 0f the back as possible in which position the slots or openings 14, 14 in the pintle bearings are in alinement with flattened portions 12, 12 After the'pintles have been slid into their bearings the lever may be then swung upwardly to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4 ,in which position the buckle is open and the flattened portions and slots out of alinement. The buckle may now be webbed in any well-known manner, one way being to fold one extremity c of the webbing around the lower side 5 of the back and to pass the other extremity upwardly then be closed so that its web-gripping portion 1() engages and co-acts with the lower Side 5 of the back to grip the webbing in its adjusted position, as shown in Fig. 2. When the buckle is webbed and closed the lever can not swing close enough to the lower side of the back to bring the flattened portions 12, l2 and the slots 14, 14 into alinement, and for this reason there is no danger of the buckle becoming disassembled after it has once been webbed. I have shown the ends of the back flattened beyond each pintle so that Vthe ldevice may be assembled either from the right or left. It is obvious, however, that it is only necessary to flatten one end of the back in rwhich case' the parts would be assembled in one direction only.

While the device above described is the preferred forni of my invention yet the same is susceptible to such moditication as may come within the scope oi the appended claims.

Having now described my invention what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A buckle comprising two articulated members and a bearing carried by yone 'of said members having its side provided with an opening from end to end, the other niember having a pintle bar journaled in said bearing and a Hatte-.ned portion to one side of and beyond one end of said pintle bar, the direction of the plane of the said attened portion being such that the pintle bar can slide into said bearing only when the buckle is not strung with webbing.

2. A buckle comprising a lever having a bearing which isiopen on its under side from end to end and a frame having a pintle bar journaled in said bearinO, the said 'traine having alined flattened portions to one sido of and beyond the ends or" said pintle bar, the direction of the plane of the said alined flattened portions being such that the pintle bar can slide into said bearing only when *the lower portion of the lever is shutdown against the lower portion of the frame.

3. A buckle for webbing of the kind which comprises front and back members which may be opened and closed characterized by the fact that the said front and back members may lne-disassembled by a lateral movement relative to 'each other when the buckle is closed and not strung with webbing,

1n testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 29th day of November, 1916.

CHAR-LES E. BRADSHAV.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, -Washington, DfG. 

